An experienced team of auto accident lawyers will tell you that one of the worst cases that they have to cope with is that of an accident or death due to a faulty seatbelt. According to the Nation's Road Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2009 there were 3,081 road traffic fatalities in California. This figure is happily 353 less than the same period in 2008. In this time the proportion of auto drivers and passengers wearing seatbelts shot up from 76% in 2008 to 85 percent in 2009. Coincidence? I should let you be the judge of that
Though there could be other underlying reasons re the dip in road traffic fatalities over the last 12 months, the final analysis is the seatbelts do save lives. So when we buckle up, we put our absolute belief in the fact that the car safety belt is there to guard us should we be faced with the unfortunate situation where an accident occurs.
One of the key issues with a faulty seatbelt is that to all desire and purpose it can seem perfectly normal. It may buckle up fine and appears to click into place. It might also spool and lock superbly. However in many cases (and this is the real crux) it's not until the safety belt is put under pressure (similar to that of unexpected or sharp breaking or an impact) the fault comes to light regularly with devastating consequences. This is the concealed danger of a faulty safety belt.
Having claimed this, there are in some scenarios, ways in which you can decide whether you're a using a damaged seatbelt. It has to be said that these are crude tests and are in no way decisive methods by which a seat belt can be judged safe. A team of car Accident attorneys Riverside explain...
5lb pressure test
In many cases the law states that a seatbelt is deemed flawed when the buckle comes away from the latch when 5lbs or more of pressure are exerted. Try giving a pointed tug on the belt down towards the latch mechanism. If after a sharpened tug, it comes away from the buckle then it may need replacing. It is worth trying this several times to be sure the latch is inserted totally into the buckle.
Though there could be other underlying reasons re the dip in road traffic fatalities over the last 12 months, the final analysis is the seatbelts do save lives. So when we buckle up, we put our absolute belief in the fact that the car safety belt is there to guard us should we be faced with the unfortunate situation where an accident occurs.
One of the key issues with a faulty seatbelt is that to all desire and purpose it can seem perfectly normal. It may buckle up fine and appears to click into place. It might also spool and lock superbly. However in many cases (and this is the real crux) it's not until the safety belt is put under pressure (similar to that of unexpected or sharp breaking or an impact) the fault comes to light regularly with devastating consequences. This is the concealed danger of a faulty safety belt.
Having claimed this, there are in some scenarios, ways in which you can decide whether you're a using a damaged seatbelt. It has to be said that these are crude tests and are in no way decisive methods by which a seat belt can be judged safe. A team of car Accident attorneys Riverside explain...
5lb pressure test
In many cases the law states that a seatbelt is deemed flawed when the buckle comes away from the latch when 5lbs or more of pressure are exerted. Try giving a pointed tug on the belt down towards the latch mechanism. If after a sharpened tug, it comes away from the buckle then it may need replacing. It is worth trying this several times to be sure the latch is inserted totally into the buckle.
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One may come to appoint that auto accident attorneys Riverside are critical when you get involve in a car accident. Read on Floyd D. Lightfoot article about the auto accident attorneys Riverside and the danger behind your defective auto seatbelt.
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